Daejeon City Implements Ground Subsidence Measures... GPR Precision Survey and Pipeline Maintenance

GPR Survey of 578 km of Sewage Pipelines and 28 km of Underpasses by Year-End
Investment of 204.3 Billion Won to Repair 298 km of Water and Sewage Pipelines... Eliminating the Root Causes

GPR survey in progress / Daejeon City

Daejeon City has announced that it will implement a systematic response to protect the lives and property of its citizens from ground subsidence accidents, which have been occurring frequently nationwide in recent times.

According to an analysis, there have been a total of 32 ground subsidence incidents in Daejeon over the past five years (from 2021 to May 2025), with 29 cases, or 91%, attributed to the damage of aging sewage pipes. Although there have fortunately been no casualties, the city is now taking fundamental measures to address the issue.

In the short term, the city will invest a total of 1.4 billion won by December to conduct ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys on 578 kilometers of sewage pipelines and 28 kilometers of underpasses with heavy vehicle traffic across the city. This measure goes beyond the legal minimum requirements and focuses on detecting voids and preventing accidents.

Additionally, an extra budget of 200 million won will be allocated for ad-hoc surveys in areas where there is concern for human casualties and around large construction sites. These sections will be managed through annual unit price contracts to enable immediate response in emergency situations.

To prevent ground subsidence, the city has introduced a system that makes GPR surveys a mandatory condition when granting permits for large-scale excavation projects. The city will require at least two surveys per year?prior to commencement, during construction, before completion, and before and after the rainy season?thereby strengthening the responsibility of private operators.

In the long term, the city plans to invest 204.3 billion won to sequentially repair 298 kilometers of aging water and sewage pipelines starting next year.

To prepare for possible accidents, the city has established and operates a "Ground Subsidence Accident Investigation Committee" in the form of a personnel pool to quickly analyze the causes of ground subsidence and carry out restoration work. The city has also established a response system in cooperation with relevant agencies.

A city official stated, "Ground subsidence is a serious risk factor that threatens the safety of citizens," and added, "We are making every effort to detect invisible risks in advance and eliminate their causes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.